A Faith That Can’t be Taken Away
written by Rev. Dr. Scott Paczkowski
“So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! ”
II write this devotion today to all the people in this world who are struggling with Alzheimer’s or some form of Dementia. My Grandmother suffered from Dementia for the last several years of her life. It was a heartbreakingly slow process. At first, it was simply frustrating, having to repeat everything two or three times. Then, she had horrible bouts of fear. She would be so scared, probably from one hallucination or another. Finally, the inevitable day came when she didn’t remember who I was.
I remember that day so vividly. I came to the memory care center, where Granny lived. I hugged her and, in my aggressive manner, I said, “Let’s go for a walk with your wheelchair.” She loved going around the large outside walkway. I was telling her about my life at home and work, and she turned and said, “Now, who are you exactly?” It was then that I realized she was just being polite, but was probably uncomfortable because I was taking her around without her permission. I got in close and said, “It’s Scott, Granny, your grandson.” She smiled and said, “No, my Scott is little.” My heart sank into my gut. This woman raised me, and now I feel like I've lost her.
This world can be cruel. I get so frustrated with people who say, “I find God in nature.” Really? Have you looked at nature? We have woods behind our house—a deer hobbles on a broken leg that can never be set. A fox walks past with a rodent dangling from its mouth. A giant owl swoops in and takes one of my slower squirrels. Nature is cruel. Philosopher Herbert Spencer was right when he coined the phrase, “The Survival of the Fittest.”
That is why our Triune God is a better deity than nature. Nature is unforgiving. Our God is eternally forgiving. Nature’s world is one in which we are born, we suffer, and then we die. In God’s world, we are born, we struggle, we receive God’s grace, we give back to God and God’s people in worship and mission, then we die, but then are reborn for all eternity. God finds ways to affirm and restore us, not because we are the fittest, but out of divine love. If nature were our god, my Granny’s story would end with a blank stare. But through the Christian faith, Granny’s story continues, wrapped in the loving arms of God! Now, that is a story worth telling!
